Cylinder head lifting and handling device



y 6, 1940- H. T.- MCCULLOUGH 2,208,221

CYLINDER HEAD LIFTING AND HANDLING DEVICE Filed Aug. 4, 1939 Patented July 16, 1940 PATENT OFFICE CYLINDER HEAD LIFTING AND HANDLING DEVI Hugh T. McCullough, Marshall Hall, Md., assignor of one-half to Richard L. Eacho, Washington, D. 0.

Application August 4, 1939, Serial No. 288,441

Claims.

This invention relates to cylinder head lifting and handling devices and it has for its object the provision of a novel type of portable jack dimensioned and arranged to operate under cer- 5 tain unusual conditions which exist in the more modern types of automobiles, all as will be more fully set forth.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a device constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional view upon line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a cylinder head of the character described having a central stud with which the lift-arm of the device may be enated. and

Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. 3 but showinga cylinder head having studs at the end but not at the center, and the manner of attaching the device ofmy invention to a cylinder head of that character.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawing.

In the drawing, 5 designates a longitudinally extending beam which may be in the form of an I-beam and which, together with the two transversely extending end bars 6 and 1, constitute a base. This base is mounted to roll upon caster wheels 1, there being one of said caster wheels at each end of each of the transverse bars 6 and l. A vertical standard 8 is provided with a suitable flange 9 at its lower end, said flange being bolted or otherwise secured to the beam 5. Arms Ill and II, which may be secured to the standard 8 in any suitable way, such as by being welded or brazed, terminate in an upstanding arm 12. A pair of links l3 and I! are pivoted at their lower ends to the arm l2 and in turn pivotally support the rear end of an elongated lever IS. The outer or free end of this lever terminates in the depressed portion it which lies at a materially lower level than the main body of the lever. The terminal end of this lever carries a reduced or flattened portion Iii having an opening therethrough for the reception of the central stud H (see Fig. 3) of a cylinder head I8 of an automobile engine, the body of said engine being indicated in dotted lines at l8. The upper end of the standard 8 is provided with a flange which constitutes the seating for the base of a small or relatively short throw fluid or hydraulic jack 2|, the operating handle of which is indicated at 22. The movable member or stem 23 of the jack is provided with a rounded head 24. The under side of the lever l5 carries a wear and centering plate 25, the under face of which is of concave formation to conform to the shape of the head 24 of the stem 23.

The purpose of arranging the parts in the manner described and the important advantages flow- 5 ing therefrom will be best appreciated if a clear understanding is had of the conditions under which a mechanic must work on some of the later type automobiles. In the older type automobile it was possible to completely remove the [0 sides as well as the tops of the hood. In the later type of automobiles the side panels are made separate from the tops of the hoods and in the ordinary servicing of the automobiles only the tops of the hoods are lifted; the sides are not 15 lifted. It is quite a task to remove the side panels and the mechanic seek to avoid the necessity for doing so wherever possible. However, with the side panels left in place the space through which the cylinder head may be removed becomes so 20 restricted that it is very difficult for a mechanic to get to and remove the cylinder head. For the same reason it is very diflicult to get the cylinder head back in place. The latter task is rendered additionally diflicult because in some types 25 of automobiles the valve push rods, of which there are 12 in a 6 cylinder engine, extend upwardly and into openings formed in the cylinder head. The difllculty of trying to support the weight of the cylinder head while getting all of these push 3o rods aligned with the openings has been so great that the mechanics have been forced to go to the considerable work of removing the push rods before trying to replace the cylinder head. In removing a cylinder head and replacing the same 35 with the device of my invention the wheeled frame or base is rolled in to lie beneath the automobile with the standard 8 disposed close to or against the front fender indicated in dotted lines at 26. At the time of this inward move- 40 ment the lever l5 will be elevated by Jack M until the depressed end l6 clears the fixed side panel 21 of the hood and which panel it is desired to leave in place. After the depressed portion It has cleared the side panel of the hood 45 the jack 2| is manipulated to lower lever i5 until the opening of the reduced portion IE may be engaged with the stud IT. A nut H"- is then screwed upon the upper end of said stud with the result that when the lever I5 is elevated by the 50 manipulation of the jack the cylinder head will be lifted from the engine [9. By proper manipulation of the jack to elevate the cylinder head while rolling the base outwardly upon its wheels P the cylinder head may be carried outwardly 55 through the relatively restricted opening at a which lies between the top of the hood h and the side panel 21 and this result may be achieved without interference by the tie-rods which lead from the dash to the radiator and the positions tendency of the structure to tip when load is brought thereon-under the action of the jack in lifting the cylinder head. The co-acting arcuate surfaces between plate and head 24 insures against any possibility of the lever l5 slipping off of head 24, while the provision of the hinged links l3 and I4 permits plate 25 to find its proper seating upon said head. Hydraulic or fluid jacks of the character illustrated are too well known to require detailed illustration. that manipulation of handle 22 pumps a pressure fluid against stem 23 to thrust the stem outwardly, and upwardly. When it is desired to lower the stem a screw indicated at 2| may be turned to release the pressure fluid and permit the stem to descend. This descent of the stem may be rendered excedingly slow by very slightly opening the valve constituted by the screw 2i. This is of much utility when replacing the cylinder head because the cylinder head may be caused to descend very slowly while leaving both hands of the operator free to align the valve push rods (not shown) with theholes in the cylinder head. This saves the mechanic the very considerable work of removing and afterward replacing these push rods. If the operator experiences any difllculty in getting the push rods aligned he can instantly interrupt the descent of the cylinder head byclosing valve 2l and the head will be left suspended upon lever l5 until the necessary positioning of the push rods has been effected. By supporting the cylinder head in the manner shown it may be swung in a horizontal plane to lie at any angle with respect to bar l6 that will be most effective in getting the cylinder head into or out of position upon the engine and since no lock nut is employed on stud II, a slight tipping or rocking may be given the cylinder head in working it out of the hood.

' The structure illustrated in Fig. 4 difiers from that illustrated in Fig. 3 only in the provision of an adapter bar 28 that is provided with a plurality of holes 29, a pair of which may be engaged with end studs 30 of a cylinder head which has no central stud. In this case a central bolt 3| traverses bar 28 and the opening of extension l6 of bar 15, said bolt receiving a nut ll by which bar I5 is held in connected relation to bar 28. I am aware of the fact that various types of wheeled jacks have heretofore been proposed for lifting and transporting devices of various kinds. However, as far as I am aware I am the first to provide a jack in which a simple and inexpensive short throw hydraulic jack is used to compound the movement of a lever adapted to span the relatively wide fender of an automobile and to enter the relatively constricted space at a and engage the cylinder head at such a low point that the subsequent movement of the jack, along with its capacity for bodily outward travel may be utilized to remove the cylinder head through such constricted space while avoiding interference with the radiator tie-rods the length of said base, a relatively small short throw jack supported upon the top of and in alignment with said standard, a lever extending in the direction of the length of the base above,

the top of said jack, means for pivoting the outer end of said lever to said bracket, a member carried by the lever against which the stemof the jack thrusts, said stem and said member being complementally formed to resist lateral movement of the lever with respect to the stem, a downwardly extending depressed portion at the outer end of said lever, and cylinder head engaging means at the outer end of said depressed portion of a nature to suspend and swivel a cylinder head from the underside of the end of said depressed portion.

2. A device for lifting and handling the cylinder heads of automobile engines, comprising a wheeled base adapted to roll in beneath an auto mobile, a vertical standard adjacent the outer end of said base, a bracket upon said standard which projects outwardly from the face of said standard in the direction of the length of said base, a relatively small short throw jack supported upon the top of and in axial alignment with said standard, a lever extending in the direction of the length of the base above the top of said jack, means for pivoting the outer end of said lever to said bracket, a member carried by the lever against which the stem of the jack thrusts. said stem and said member being complementally formed to resist lateral movement of the lever with respect to the stem, and said stem being also in axial alignment with the standard, a downwardly extending depressed portion at the outer end of said lever, and cylinder head engaging means at the outer end of said depressed portion constructed to suspend a cylinder head from the underside of said depressed portion and to swivel thegsame to permit the cylinder head to swing from a position at right angles to the lever to a position approaching longitudinal alignment with said lever and also to permit tipping of the cylinder head, the parts being so shaped and dimensioned that when the base is rolled in beneath an automobile until the standard lies close to the front fender of the automobile, the lever will extend over the side panel of the hood and the depressed portion of said lever will extend downwardly far enough for its engaging means to engage a cylinder headcarried member.

3. A structure as recited in claim 2 wherein the pivotal connection between the bracket and the lever permits endwise movement of the lever with respect to the bracket.

4. A structure as recited in claim 2 wherein the pivotal connection between the lever and the bracket comprises at least one link pivotally connected at one end to the lever at one end of the lever and at its other end to the bracket.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a base consisting of an elongated beam, an inner cross-bar and outer cross-bar, the latter bar being materially longer than the former, caster wheels at each end of each bar, a standard supported upon the base above the beam and centrally of the outer cross-bar, a bracket carried by said standard and projecting outwardly materially beyond the end of said base, a hydraulic jack, in endwise alignment with and supported upon the top of said standard, an elongated lever overlying said jack and extending in the direction of the length of said beam, means for pivotally connecting the outer end of said lever to said bracket, the stem of the jack being movable vertically out of the top of the jack, interengaging portions between said stem and said lever at a point upon said lever materially nearer the outer end of the lever than the inner end thereof, the free end portion of the lever being shaped to provide a part which extends downwardly and then inwardly to form a terminal end, and means for suspending a cylinder head from the underside of said terminal end in such manner as to be swiveled with respect thereto so that the said cylinder head may be swung fl om a position substantially at right angles to the lever to a position in substantial alignment therewith, the proportions of the whole being such that the lever lies a sufficient distance above the base to accommodate the fender and side hood panel of an automobile between itself and the base, with the terminal end of the lever lying inwardly of and below the top of said panel.

HUGH T. MCCULLOUGH 

